Chrome OS

In Short

Chrome is yet another Google software platform, much like Android, only different. It's a desktop browser, a mobile app, and the operating system for Google's series of laptops and mini desktops.

Chrome means several different things, but they all center around one main component — Google’s Chrome framework.

On the traditional computer side — that’d be your desktop or your laptop — the Chrome browser is just a download away no matter what brand of computer you have. It’s available for Microsoft Windows, Apple’s macOS, and most flavors of Linux as an easy-to-install prebuilt package. Hardcore Unix types can also build the open-source version — dubbed Chromium — for just about any modern machine. The Chrome browser is easy to install, and that’s just the way Google likes it.

That brings us to Chrome OS, and the machines that run it. Google has partnered with companies like HP and Acer to build inexpensive laptops, mini desktop Chromeboxes, and HDMI sticks called Chromebits that run Chrome OS. It is basically a very stripped down version of Linux, where the user-space tools and applications — those are the programs and user interface that we see when we turn it on — are about the same Chrome experience you'd find on your computer. This gives you an easy-to-use machine that’s always up to date. The latest security and feature releases are downloaded automatically and installed when you reboot. It's a machine that’s perfect for the Internet. If you mostly use your computer for Facebooking, watching YouTube, or surfing the web, you’re the target audience for a Chrome OS device.

Now that Chrome OS also runs Android apps and has access to Google Play, they can do a lot more. Most of your favorite apps (that you've already paid for) will run great in their own window on your Chromebook. Everything is sandboxed using Chrome's security features and now you have access to just about anything you would want to do through Chrome.

We love everything Chrome around these parts, and Android Central is the right place to find out more about all things Chrome and Google.

01 June 2015 19By Dan Thorp-LancasterThe update brings Chrome OS up to version 43.0.2357.81 and adds a few new features such as autofill for credit card info stored in Google Wallet, physical keyboard autocorrection, and always-on voice search on the new Chromebook Pixel.

27 May 2015 7By Dan Thorp-LancasterGoogle announced today that Chrome 43 for Android will begin rolling out to Google Play over the next several days, bringing with it faster online checkouts and a new touch to search feature for words and phrases.

21 May 2015 54By John CallahamResearch firm Gartner stated today that Over 5.7 million Chromebooks shipped worldwide in 2014 Chromebooks shipped worldwide in 2014, with 72 percent of that number going to education customers. Gartner predicts that Chromebook shipments will go up in 2015 to 7.288 million units.

13 May 2015 21By John CallahamGoogle will only allow for Chrome extensions to be installed via the Chrome Web Store for all Windows and Mac users, in both consumer and development channels, starting in July.

05 May 2015 34By Russell HollyIt comes pre-loaded with just about everything Android nowadays, and with good reason.
Google has been changing the very nature of the web browser for a long time now. There are a lot of features we take for granted, both on mobile and desktop browsers, that exist because of Google Chrome...

29 April 2015 5By Jerry HildenbrandFor those who like to live on the bleeding edge when it comes to software, Google has announced the Chrome developer channel for Android. It's a seperate install from Chrome (stable) or the Chrome beta channel, and can run along side both or either...

22 April 2015 9By Andrew MartonikSoon Google Drive won't be the only option for cloud storage on your Chromebook.
Speaking at an enterprise-focused Chrome Live online event, Google announced that Box integration will soon be coming to Chrome OS...

15 April 2015 18By John CallahamGoogle is now rolling out the latest version of its Chrome web browser for Android. It brings the version number to 42 and adds a way to be notified when websites are updated.
The feature was first revealed by Google in March as part of the beta for Chrome 42...

14 April 2015 14By Jerry HildenbrandChrome 42 brings a new push API, fixes and enhancements, and the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Google has pushed the latest version of Chrome — version 42 — to the stable channel for users on Windows, OS X and Linux...

13 April 2015 35By Jerry HildenbrandA slew of Android apps are coming to Chrome, and they are all designed to be touched.
The web isn't very touch-friendly. I've used a Chromebook Pixel as my primary laptop for years, and I can say with authority that websites and web apps are designed for a mouse and keyboard...

01 April 2015 11By Jared DiPaneAcer is going where no other has gone before by adding a touchscreen to their upcoming all-in-one Chromebase.
Acer's newest addition to the Chrome OS family will be an all-in-one Chromebase that brings a touchscreen to the device for the first time ever...

31 March 2015 19By Jerry HildenbrandThe best text editors for Chrome
Your Chromebook is more than a browser. Chrome is a complete application platform, and crafty developers have built out the Chrome Store with apps that fill just about every requirement a modern laptop needs — including text editors.
I write for a living...

31 March 2015 53By Jared DiPaneGoogle has just announced four new additions to the Chromebook family, all of them priced under $249.
The Chromebook lineup has again grown, this time with additions from Hisense, Haier, and two new Asus models, all priced under $250...

31 March 2015 120By Derek KesslerIf you've been looking for the easiest way to get Chrome OS onto your TV, Google's new Chromebit HDMI stick might be exactly what you need.
Google has a new type of Chrome OS device, one that's designed to make it easier and more discreet than ever to hook up a TV...